However, Li Kang's expression was calm as he strode inside. He turned the handle of the restroom faucet to the left three times, then opened the valve. But not a single drop of water came out.
The wall at the far end of the restroom emitted a heavy, grinding sound as it gradually moved to reveal a downward-sloping stone passageway.
After taking just a couple of steps into the stone passageway, Chu Bamboo sensed something was off. He knocked hard on the wall. 'Metal?'
Lost in thought, Chu Bamboo walked to the very bottom, where he was met with a brilliant light.
It was a vast room shimmering with a metallic luster, possessing the feel of a secret base from a science fiction novel. From the walls to the ceiling and floor, everything was constructed from a silver-colored metal.
There were no visible lights, yet the room was brightly lit, as if the silver metal itself was glowing.
The room's interior was extremely spacious. A series of doors lined the perimeter, and some instruments were placed along the edges near the corners.
"Welcome to the Captain's Office, Jinghai City Base Three!" Li Kang turned around, giving a slight bow. His expression was extremely grim. "Ah Zhu, how did you become a Cultivator of the First Realm of Body Refining?"
"I dunno! I just came to catch up with you, and then you dragged me here." Chu Bamboo spread his hands, a picture of innocence. His acting, honed by countless resets, was absurdly good—good enough that if he were reborn in ancient times, he'd have no problem climbing to the highest echelons of politics.
A crude martial artist would never see through the act, but he didn't need to. Li Kang grabbed Chu Bamboo's wrist.
"Do you think I'm joking with you? Do you have any idea what this change in you means? I don't know why the radar alarms didn't pick you up until you walked right into the police station... but the source of whatever got you to this point carries a terrifyingly horrific contamination! It could very well cause countless people to... huh?"
Li Kang snapped a metal wristband heavily onto Chu Bamboo's forearm. At that moment, the walls, shimmering with a metallic sheen, unexpectedly projected a holographic image out of thin air.
A large amount of data streamed across it, finally resolving into two lines.
"Body Strength: 5.8 (First Realm of Body Refining)"
"Contamination Level: 0"
Li Kang: "???"
At that moment, Li Kang looked as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Impossible! This makes no sense. Is it broken?" Li Kang took the metal wristband off and snapped it onto his own wrist.
"Body Strength: 39.6 (Second Realm of Body Refining)"
"Contamination Level: 38.9! (Extremely Dangerous)"
Li Kang: "???"
"It's not broken!" Li Kang couldn't understand.
Chu Bamboo noticed something was off and a guess formed in his mind, but he kept his expression confused. "So, can you tell me what exactly is going on?"
"...Alright." Li Kang was silent for a long moment before saying with a bitter smile, "Others can't know, but for you, as you are now... To put it simply, do you believe there are people in this world with unimaginable power... Oh, right, you should have it already! Okay, next topic.
"The power of beings like us originates from a very ominous existence, or something else entirely—something we cannot comprehend!"
Chu Bamboo nodded calmly. 'Isn't it just nuclear radiation? That's perfectly easy to understand... As for why it's "ominous"—once you're exposed to nuclear radiation, it'd be a miracle if things stayed stable!'
"We've sealed away everything related to *that*. We don't allow ordinary people to come into contact with it, or even to know about it! The moment an ordinary person learns of it, their location will appear as a map and radar marker in our main hall here. We use the coordinates shared to our tablets to find them and wipe their memories of anything related to the Extraordinary! Only those who are Extraordinary themselves are qualified to know the truth."
Chu Bamboo: "..."
'Unreal! This tech is some dark stuff... So is this the real reason I never had any memories of Extraordinary Power? No matter how I got it, I'd get flagged and have my memory wiped!'
'But this time, it seems I was only detected after entering the police station... So, if a Transcendent knows the details of the Extraordinary, even an unofficial Transcendent, they won't be flagged?'
"But, because we've come into contact with that ominous power, our bodies become saturated with contamination. This contamination is impossible to eliminate; it can only be suppressed! But why do you..." Li Kang sized up Chu Bamboo again and again, his eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.
Chu Bamboo was no stranger to this kind of emotion... 'Isn't this just someone's worldview collapsing?'
And so, countless thoughts flashed through Chu Bamboo's mind, and he basically confirmed that the source of Extraordinary Power was nuclear radiation. As for why he wasn't affected by it... 'It would be weirder if I *was* affected! I've been reset, after all.'
'The only thing I can't figure out is why ordinary people with no Extraordinary Power get detected just by knowing about it. Logically, as long as you haven't been exposed to the nuclear radiation, it shouldn't be a problem...'
"However," Chu Bamboo said thoughtfully, drawing on the countless novels he'd read in the real world, "next, aren't you supposed to coercively invite me to join the official organization? And then I'll play hard to get..."
"In your dreams!" Li Kang cut Chu Bamboo off. "It's not that you can't join us, but... you have to go next door and take the civil service exam first! Once you test into a department, then I can transfer you into mine! Yes, even if you're a Cultivator. You really think it's that easy to get into the civil service? Mr. Zhu, I know you're someone special in the shantytown districts, but the official system doesn't recognize that!"
"Do you have any idea how high the unemployment rate is right now? Do you know how many people fight for a single civil servant position? I remember the exam three days ago—three openings, and sixty-seven hundred people signed up to compete for them! All of them top students. You think you can just say the word and take a spot? Not even you can do that! If I actually agreed, the city administrator would have my head."
"The most my authority allows is to pull you in as an auxiliary officer!"
Chu Bamboo: "?"
'Wait, not that I was actually planning to join the government right away... but you're a Transcendent, and you still have to take a test to get in?!'
He couldn't keep a straight face.
"Alright, I'm still not sure why, but the situation is you're not contaminated... Hmm, you'll need to register in a moment. Just tell me why you've become so powerful! How did you set foot on..."
"I dunno," Chu Bamboo said, playing the same old tune.
"...Fine." After a brief silence, Li Kang sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair in despair. "I'll write the report! Alright, you're clear. What did you come looking for me for? Say your piece and then you can scram!"
'So cold and heartless?' Chu Bamboo found it hilarious. He had been fully prepared to kill himself if he couldn't get away! And the result... 'You want to join the official organization? Sigh, go compete with over six thousand top students first...'
"Um, can I look around here a bit more? By the way, is this one of the Ancient Ruins too...?" Chu Bamboo asked, choosing his words carefully.
"I knew it!" Li Kang hesitated for a good while, then sighed at the heavens. "Fine, I guess I owe you one!"
And then...
Though Chu Bamboo's expression didn't change, ripples stirred in his eyes, an indirect sign that his inner emotions were anything but calm.
Because Chu Bamboo clearly heard Li Kang utter a familiar phrase: "Nuwa No. 17!"
"I am here." A gentle voice responded immediately. And that gentle voice... was speaking Chinese.